Where Tennessee basketball ranks in coaches poll to start 2026-27 season

Tennessee basketball is ranked in No. 9 in the USA TODAY coaches poll to open the 2026-27 season.

There are six other SEC teams ranked in the top 25, led by No. 1 Florida. Tennessee will play at least 10 games against teams ranked in the preseason poll this season, with a chance for more depending on how play unfolds at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas from Nov. 24-28.

The Vols will also play an exhibition game vs. No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Oct. 20 (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network).

Tennessee dropped their first preseason exhibition game 86-70 vs. Xavier at Food City Center on Oct. 15. The regular season starts in Knoxville vs. Wofford on Nov. 3.

Men's college basketball preseason rankings for 2026-27 season

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Florida (20)
2. Duke (8)
3. Illinois (2)
4. Arizona
5. Connecticut
6. Michigan State
7. Texas
8. Houston
9. Tennessee
10. Virginia
11. Louisville
12. Gonzaga
13. Arkansas
14. St. John's
15. Iowa State
16. Texas Tech
17. Miami
18. Alabama
19. Kansas
20. Michigan
21. Vanderbilt
22. USC
23. Kentucky
24. Purdue
25. BYU

Dropped out: No. 14 Nebraska; No. 19 Iowa; No. 25 Wisconsin

Others receiving votes: Nebraska 66; UCLA 64; Missouri 60; Ohio State 31; North Carolina 24; Texas A&M 19; Villanova 14; Indiana 9; Wisconsin 5; Saint Louis 4; Cincinnati 4; West Virginia 2; Creighton 2; Maryland 1; Auburn 1.

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 30 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2026-27 season: John Becker, Vermont; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin; Pat Chambers, Florida Gulf Coast; Scott Drew, Baylor; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; A.W. Hamilton, Eastern Kentucky; Alan Huss, Creighton; Donte’ Jackson, Alabama A&M; Ben Jacobson, Utah State; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Eric Konkol, Tulsa; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Anthony Latina, Sacred Heart; Shantay Legans, Portland; Jim Les, UC Davis; Luke Loucks, Florida State; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Mike Morrell, UNC Asheville; Andy Newman, Cal State Northridge; Nate Oats, Alabama; Matt Painter, Purdue; Paul Sather, North Dakota; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Stan Waterman, Delaware State.

Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Tennessee basketball ranks in coaches poll to start 2026-27 season